It gives me great pleasure to announce not one, but two additions to the Cartography Team, in the form of TaCktiX and Industrial Helix!

TaCktiX and Industrial Helix have agreed to provide some much needed support and assistance within the 'Melting Pot: Map Ideas' subforum. Please join me in welcoming them aboard as they adjust to their new blue shoes

With the expansion of the Cartography Team it is hoped that things may begin to move a little bit quicker, and there are likely to be further tweaks to to the foundry process.

In the coming months, your Foundry Team is planning more mapmaking(ish) competitions, a site-wide map awards ceremony, and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to conquer the world - keep your eyes (and bananas) peeled!

--MrBenn

PB: 2661 | He's blue...If he were green he would die | No mod would be stupid enough to do that

Industrial Helix wrote:with the addition of more foundry mods came the addition of new requirements and concerns from above. On one hand I'd like to say I'm just doing my job and on the other I think this will work to give maps a better sense of direction as well as ensure that CC (in a community sense) is getting maps that are desired.

So why all the secrecy? Why is there not an official announcement about this?

Why doesn't CC want any more maps? Is it a space/server resource concern, or a concern that there won't be enough players for all maps?

Like I've said, mapmaking is a huge part of the reason I am in CC. If I can't make maps for CC anymore, I won't be staying in CC.

There is no "secrecy" or other conspiracy; all that has happened is that I have asked the new CAs to take responsibility for the melting pot, and specifically the Design Brief Application Process, which has been outlined in general terms in previous announcements:

MrBenn wrote:The most significant element of the foundry restructure is the removal of the "Draft Stamp", and an introduction of the "Design Brief" process for new maps. Once a draft map has started to develop a clear thematic focus, and a plan for how the gameplay will work, cartographers will be required to submit a Design Brief that is designed to provide firm foundations to build upon during map development. Design Briefs will be reviewed by a group of Foundry moderators, and will make make suggestions and recommendations for the development of the map. Successful design concepts will be moved into the newly formed Gameplay Workshop to work towards the first of the Foundry Stamps.

MrBenn wrote:Design Briefs - Once a draft map has started to develop a clear thematic focus, and a plan for how the gameplay will work, it is time to put together a design brief and start the application process to move your map into the Foundry Workshops. The information you are required to provide in your design brief is designed to help provide a firm foundation to build upon during the development of your map, and includes:

The names of up to 2 cartographers who will be developing the map - Think about the roles each person will play: Who will be managing feedback? making decisions? drawing the map? writing the XML?

Map Size- What is the approximate total number of territories/regions on the map? Think about how this will affect gameplay.

Your aims/design style - Think about what has influenced the map? Do you have any specific gameplay types in mind? Do you want a contemporary or old-fashioned look? Have you thought about your target audience? Who will play the map? What game settings would work well, or would suffer? What do you hope to achieve by this project?

Uniqueness - maps should be 'inherently unique either in gameplay, location, or theme': what is it about your map that sets it apart from the existing canon of CC maps?

Relevant Experience - you don't need to be an experienced mapmaker or fantastic graphic designer to make a map, but will need to think about: how well do you know your map subject? have you contributed to any other maps in development? will you be creating the graphics? how well do you know your graphics software? have you seen any good tutorials?

After you have submitted your design brief in the Official Design Brief Submissions thread, a group of Foundry moderators will review your application in line with their review schedule (roughly every two weeks). The reviewers will make make suggestions and recommendations for the development of the map idea, with successful design concepts being moved into the Gameplay Workshop.

The Design Briefs were originally intended to help mapmakers think outside the "I think this is a really good idea" box, and to make sure that there is a place for it on the site. The real issue here is that I have not had sufficient time to implement the Design Brief Application Process properly, which is the primary reason for the confusion surrounding it and the apparent slowdown in the Melting Pot.

With Tack and IH on board, we'll start to see more successful design concepts being moved into the mapmaking workshops. You'll hopefully see a little bit more of me around the place too!

PB: 2661 | He's blue...If he were green he would die | No mod would be stupid enough to do that

Ah, that makes a lot more sense. I was worried for a while there... The way IH talked about this gave me the idea that there was some new restrictions applied on making of new maps. Which kinda confused me since I had seen no such announcement. But if this is just about submitting design briefs, I can live with it